Grinding machinery



Oct. 29, 1940. Q LOTT 2,219,425

GRINDING MACHINERY Filed Jan. 8, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 H r-l 1 l IW- J v 4 51 .2 1 158 inventor: @ixkudwsLQobL Mum attorneys GRINDING MACHINERY Filed Jan. 8, 195a 2 sneeps -sneep 2 ezmmue WHEEL EEGULATING WHEEL' dttoinegS Patented Oct. 29, 1940 MTED sTTATss ATEN 'l OFFICE This invention relates to' grinding machinery, and particularly to machines of the type known in the art as centerless grinding machines.

In devices of the prior art it has been .the usual practice to feed the work manually, either piece by piece or by employing carriers in which a plurality of work pieces are loaded for manual transfer to and removal from the grinding throat. Magazine feeds have been used to a limited extent but these feeds have met with difliculty in that the work is not held in accurate relation to the grinding and regulating wheels. Methods so far known are not well suited to high speed productiori, nor do they lend themselves to effective use in extremely accurate work or in operations where each work piece must be subjected to a plurality of grinding operations in order to finish a plurality of its surfaces.

'31! the present invention is directed more hi9 particularly to mechanisms for grinding bearing rollers, it is not limited to such use. It is designed with the idea of making the grinding operation fully automatic so that the work can be fed from a magazine to a continuous work carrier which is subjected to continuous movement between the grinding elements of one or more grinding machines.

The main object of this invention is to produce a centerless ding machine for continuous opsti oration and capable of grinding a plurality of surfaces without removing the work from the work carrier. Furthermore, it is proposed to produce a compact assembly or grinding units, each capable of individual adjustment on a common bed as and being so arranged that each rotating element has a separate driving motor capable of individual adjustment. It is further proposed to provide the work carrier with a fixed guide so that the work traverses the grinding throat or grinda) ing throats in accurate predetermined relation to the grinding and regulating wheels.

Numerous other advantages of the present in-' vention will be apparent from a reading of the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is aside view of one form of centerless grinding machine n. l the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view oi the mace of Fig. i;

so Fig. 3 is a plan View of a ding machine embodying the prwent invention with the superstructure removed to make clear the relation between the work carrier d the grind throats,

and showing the individual adjustments or the various rotating cleats;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the work carrier showing its relation to the. grinding throats and the work' guides;

Fig. 5 is a partial perspective view of the .con tinuous work carrier together with its guide, and a portion of the feeding magazine.

In the drawings, the reference character designates a machine bed having mounted thereon, by means of slides, a plurality of centerless grinding machines or units. A grinding throat N. I! is formed between regulating wheel l3 and grinding wheel H. The regulating wheel i3 is mounted on a. shaft I! carried in' brackets l8 upstanding from slide l1, and adapted to'move on ways I8 alongwhich it may be adjusted by hand wheel I9. Also'mounted on the shaft I5 is a gear box 2| constructed and arranged to permit different rates of drive for the regulating wheel IS, in accordance with usual practice, and including a pulley 22 connected by belt 23 with a pulley 24 driven by motor 25 through reduction gearing 28. The motor 25 forms an individual drive for the regulating wheel 13 and is mounted on the slide I! so as to be adjustable toward and away 7 from the grinding throat H by manipulation of wheel i9.

The-grinding wheel ii is mounted on a shaft 2? carried on brackets 28 and slide 29. Thgslide 28 is movable on ways 3| and the slide may be adjusted by means of hand wheel 32. Also mounted on the slide 29 is an individual driving motor--33 directly connected with the wheel M.

In accordance with the usual practice, the grinding wheel 58 has associated with it a wheel truing mechanism designated generally by reference character 3t, this mechanism being generally similar to truing mechanism 34 associated with regulating wheel 93".

Also mounted on the bed ll of the grinding I machine shown in Fig. 3 is asecoud pair of wheels, forming a second grinding'throat 35. Associated with the throat $5 is a regulating wheel 86 driven by a motor 53'? through reduction gearing 88, belt drive 89 and speed adjusting gearing ill. The motor 8? as well as the regulating wheel 3t are mounted on a slide 82 movable on ways $3 on the machine Evil and capable of' adjustment toward and away from the grinding throat as by hand wheel dd. M m o relation to the regulating wheel as is a grin wheel 55 driven by an individual motor it to which it is eat-connected. Wheel Q6 and motor 68 are mounted on a slide ll movable on it on the-madame heel and adjustsble toward and away from the grinding throat 35 by means of hand wheel Q9.

It will be apparent from the above that the two regulating wheels i3 and 35 are mounted on opposite sides of their respective grinding throats so as to act in opposite directions upon the work which is passing through said throats. Similarly, the grinding wheels 96 and 55 are oppositely disposed so that work traversing the two throats l2 and 35 in succession (see Fig. 3) will be ground on one face in throat t2 and on the other face in throat 35. Inasmuch as each of the four wheels is driven by a separate motor and each such motor is mounted on an individual slide capable of individual adjustment, it will be clear that any one wheel may have its position changed in accordance with requirements without afiecting the adjustment of any of the other wheels. It will also be clear that by means of gear boxes 26 and it the speeds of the regulating wheels may be altered to suit conditions in accordance with usual practice.

The location of two centerless grinders on a single machine bed with an individual driving motor for each of the wheels eliminates a major portion of the usual gearing and belting required by such machines, and makes'it possible to design a single Work carrier arranged for continuous operation so as to carry work from one grinding throat to the other uninterruptedly, and without requiring any handling of the work whatsoever.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings it will be seen that the carrier consists of a plurality of links 55 joined together as at 52 and containing pockets 53 to receive elements to be ground, these elements being here shown as bearing rollers 54. The pockets 53 are inclined with respect to the direction of travel of the carrier as indicated in Fig. 4, so that the end faces of the bearings are ground at an angle, the bearings in Fig. 4 having the faces 55 ground by grinding wheel I4 and the faces 56.ground by the grinding wheel 45. The carrier elements or links are slotted longitudinally of the carrier on their lower faces at 59 to straddle the guide bar 52, and are provided 'with teeth 56, so that the carrier may be driven by gears such as 51 (Figs. 2 and 3). A gear is provided at each end of the carrier and the carrier is driven from a motor 58 and a belt connection 59 as shown in Fig. 3.

With the arrangement just described it is possible to feed the rollers 54 into the carrier from a magazine as indicated at 63 (Fig. 5). This magazine or chute is arranged so as to feed the rollers one by one in parallel relation to the pockets 53. This is accomplished by inclining the magazine not only with respect to the horizontal plane of the carrier, but also with respect to the vertical plane of the carrier, the inclination with respect to the vertical plane being the same as the inclination of the axes of the pockets 53 withrespect to the vertical plane of the carrier.

Gears 5'! are mounted insuitable brackets such;

as 64, carried by the machine bed. The guide' rail 62 extends upwardly from the machine bed from one grinding throat to the. :other so as to insure a proper relation between theelements to be ground and the two'g'rinding throats. The

guide rail 62 is carried by suitable supporting.

hold the rollers in their pockets during the grinding operation. Although this bar is shown of substantial width in Fig. 4, it may consist merely of a knife edge bearing downwardly against the ends of the rollers adjacent the regulating wheel I3 and counteracting the usual tendency of that wheel to lift the work. The guide bar associated with throat 35 will cooperate with wheel 36 in a similar manner. During travel of the carrier from one grinding throat to the other, the rollers are not subjected to any lifting tendency. Consequently, no bar need be present above the rollers between the two grinding throats. However, during this travel from one grinding throat to the other, the ends of the rollers are exposed and it is, therefore, necessary, in order to prevent lateral displacement of these rollers, to provide some means such as guide bars 38, preferably inclined at the incoming end as indicated in Fig. 4. These two bars 58 are separated by an interval suificient to maintain the rollers in alinement with the two grinding throats, but not to impose appreciable friction on'the rollers as they make the traverse. While the guide bar Si, in connection with the grinding throat i2, is located in the vicinity of regulating wheel l3, it will be understood that in connection with grinding throat 35 the guide bar is located in juxtaposition to the regulating wheel 38, which contacts with the previously ground faces of the rollers which have been formed by grinding wheel I t.

The operation of the machine just described is as follows: I

The grinding and regulating wheels associated with the two grinding throats are first adjusted to proper relation, and the motors started so that all four wheels are rotating and the carrier is also moving. Rollers to be ground are hen dropped into the magazine 53, which feeds them down into the pockets 53 of the carrier. They are then advanced to grinding throat l2 where the ends 55 are ground by the grinding wheel I4 as they are rotated by regulating wheel l3. Continuous motion of the carrier takes place during this grinding operation so that the rollers leave the throat I 2, pass between the guides 68, and enter the throat 35 where the opposite ends are ground by the grinding. wheel 45. When the rollers leave the grinding throat 35 they are angle ground on both ends and may be dropped out into any suitable container or chute for transvidually and the speeds of the regulating wheels varied to suit conditions, the change speed gearing 2| and ll being available for this purpose.

The guide rail 82 holds the work in accurate operative relation to the grinding throats at all times, and the bar I! and guides 38 prevent the rollers from being displaced at any time from the pockets in which they'are carried. Conse-' quently, the machine is entirely automatic in its operation, and is capable of producing accurate work at a very high rate oi. speed and without manual control, other than to keep the magazine 83 filled and to maintain proper adjustment between-the elements of the grinding throats.

The machine illustrated eliminates a large part of the belting and gearing which are usually required in connection ,with a'plurality of grinding throats, and the machine is reduced to the utmost in simplicity and a fewsmall motors accomplish the result which formerly required a very large motor of high capacity. The use of individual driving motors cuts down the friction of the system and materially reduces the amount of power consumed in driving and operating the machine.

Although only one form of the invention has been illustrated, it will be obvious that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A continuous centerless grinding machine for angle grinding the ends of cylindrical members comprising a bed; la plurality of grinding and regulating wheels mounted on said bed with each grinding wheel operatively associated with a regulating wheel to form at least two grinding throats in alignment in a common plane, the grinding wheel of one throat being in reversed relation to the grinding wheel of the other throat; an endless work conveyor member operatively associated with said throats and comprising hinged links having transverse work receiving pockets dirnosed in inclined relation to the direction of travel of said conveyor to bring the ends of the work into operative relation with the grinding wheels as the conveyor passes through the grinding throats; rigid means for guiding said conveyor in its travel through said throats; means for feeding cylindrical work pieces to said conveyor; and means associated with the con-' work pieces having surfaces of revolution on which the pieces rotate during a grinding operation, comprising a grinding and a regulating wheel arranged to form a first grinding throat;

a grinding and a regulating wheel arranged to form a second throat, the second throat being in longitudinal alignment with the first throat and the grinding wheel of one throat in reverse relation to the grinding wheel of the other throat; an endless conveyor extending through said throats, said conveyor containing work piece receiving pockets having their axes in skewed relation to the grinding wheels of said throats and arranged to constrain said pieces with respect to the conveyor; and means for actuating said conveyor to bring one end of a work piece into operative relation with the grinding wheel of one of said throats, and then to bring the other end of the same work piece into operative relation with the grinding wheel of the other throat.

3. A grinding machine for performing successive grinding operations on different portions of work. pieces having surfaces of revolution on which the pieces rotate during a grinding operation, comprising a grinding and a regulating wheel arranged to form a first grinding throat; a grinding and a regulating wheel arrangedto form a second throat, the second throat being in longitudinal alignment with the first throat and the grinding wheel of one throat in reverse relation to the grinding wheel of the other throat; an endless conveyor movable through said throats successively, said conveyor containing work piece receiving pockets having their axes in inclined relation to the direction of conveyor movement and skewed with respect to the grinding wheels; and means for movingthe conveyor through said throats successively to cause movement of the work pieces in a plane common to the planes of the axes of the wheels of the throats and to bring one end of a work piece into contact with the grinding wheel of one of said throats, and then to bring the other end of the same work piece into contact with the grinding wheel of the other of said throats.

- CHARLES I. LO'I'I. 

